Activity 1: View statistical information collected by different countries

No organisation can exist without up-to-date information to help decision making. National and regional governments are no exception. Nowadays, most governments disseminate much of this information online and you will find information that relates to many topics studied on early childhood degrees. It is worth investigating what information has been made public in the country where you live. A few examples of interesting websites are given here (this a snapshot from February 2017). (A note of caution: because websites are dynamic and ever-changing, the suggestions that are given here may no longer be available.)

(a) The UK

• gov.uk

The main portal through which you can access all government departments. On the home page you will find a link to statistics. When you follow this link, you will be directed to an area where you can use a drop-down menu to search for the information you need.

Using the click-down menu on the left, click on Policy area and select Children and young people. This will take you to a list of publications relevant to children. Choose one of the publications:

How was the data collected?

If a survey approach was used, was it a longitudinal survey or cross-sectional?

Who were the participants and how were they chosen?

• data.gov.uk

A UK Government initiative aimed to make non-personal data available to the general public. Once you get the hang of it, you will find that it is a good starting point for research.

Using the search engine on the website, request information on breast feeding initiation. Follow the links and eventually you will come to the web page for Health Profiles where you will be able to download tables relating to starting breast feeding. The information comes from a survey of women in different areas of the UK undertaken in 2008/2009.

• https://www.ons.gov.uk/

The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) collects and publishes statistics related to the population, society and economy of England and Wales.

Investigate the ONS website. Using the drop down menu at the top of the home page, click onto People, Population and Community and explore the births, deaths and marriages section

(b) Singapore

• http://www.singstat.gov.sg/

The Department of Statistics Singapore compiles a wide range of statistical information about the country and analyses changes and trends relating to the economy, business, households and the population.

Explore the website: you may find it helpful to click on Statistics from the top menu and click on Browse by theme from the drop-down menu. See if you can find the latest statistics for infant mortality.

(c) Ireland

• http://www.cso.ie/en/index.html

The Central Statistics Office Ireland (CSOI) collects and disseminates statistical information on economic, social and general activities in Ireland. Click on the CSOI link below, which will take you to a YouTube video that explains the work of the CSOI:
http://www.cso.ie/en/newsandevents/youtubevideos/csohouseholdsurveysvideo/

(d) Australia

• http://www.abs.gov.au/

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects and disseminates statistical information from all parts of the government  (and other organisations) in order for the information to be used as an aid to decision making, research and discussion. Click on the ‘census’ link at the top of the home page, it will take you to a link where you can view videos about the 20-16 census.

(e) USA

• https://www.usa.gov/statistics

This will take you to a web page where you will find links to all sorts of statistics that relate to the USA. Using this link you will find the latest census findings.

• https://www.data.gov/

This website contains all sorts of government reports and statistics. Insert ‘early childhood’ into the search facility and explore the links that come up.